Two young women during a time of praise at a church in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, in January 2012.
The extraordinary influx to Haiti’s churches which followed the earthquake of January 12, 2010, is still continuing two years later. Churches of all types remain full. Haitians’ thirst for God and their interest in the Bible continue unabated.
A year ago, the 10 a.m. service at the Baptist church in the Delmas area of Port-au-Prince was attracting so many people that many tens of chairs had to be placed outside. Today, the room is full but there are no chairs outside.
A second service
“There’s a simple reason,” says Magda Victor, General Secretary of the Haitian Bible Society. “The number of people attending church has risen constantly for the last two years ago, so much so that there is now a second service, at 6.30 a.m. This service is now so full that extra chairs are being placed outside, just like when we only had one service, a year ago!”
"This service is now so full that extra chairs are being placed outside".
New churches are opening every day. There are many in Port-au-Prince, some of which are not very organised. It’s hard to obtain accurate figures, but it does not seem to be an exaggeration to talk of a ‘revival’. Demand for Bibles is rising, too, and is now much higher than before the earthquake. In addition to the many tens of thousands of Bibles that have been distributed free of charge, sales are also rising.
Obtaining a Bible
A significant new development is that people are asking for the Bible in créole. At the same time, waiting lists for literacy classes are growing: in this country where almost 50 per cent of the population cannot read or write, the Bible Society’s literacy program is completely full and urgently needs to be expanded.
Many Christians are now learning to read in order to be able to read the Bible in créole. One such person is an elderly lady at the Calvary Chapel Church in Port-au-Prince. After having completely the classes offered under the Society’s program, she signed up at another school so that she could continue to make progress. Her goal is to read the Bible every day by herself, to understand and study it in her mother tongue without needing anybody’s help.
Saint-Louis church, in the town centre of Port-au-Prince. January 2012.
